CASE STUDY
Supporting Providence Wealth with Always-On IT Services.
In an industry where client service is everything, IT Agency ensures the Providence Wealth team is always connected, protected, productive and fully supported.
Providence Wealth Advisory Group is an independently owned and operated investment advisory. It provides independent advice, comprehensive wealth management, and investment strategies to high-net-worth individuals, families, and non-profit organisations.
The firm has a 20-year track record, guiding its clients through varied financial cycles. With approximately $1bn of funds under management, it has an unwavering commitment to independence, maintaining a boutique approach to client relationships.
Its commitment to providing advice that’s supported by one of the most experienced investment committees in Australia, ensures it always acts in its client’s best interests.
When we sat down with Carlo Quedding, Associate Director at Providence Wealth and Michaela Hunt, Client Services Associate, we were keen to understand a little more about their relationship with IT Agency and how it enables the firm to achieve its objectives.
“We’ve been with the IT Agency since 2014,” explained Carlo Quedding. “They now deliver a whole of business managed IT service, which includes Microsoft 365 productivity platforms and our day-to-day managed IT support services. This includes all the essentials, like a managed service desk, managed back-up, and a disaster recovery service.
“We also rely on the IT Agency’s expertise to guide and support us through our ongoing digital transformation. In 2016, for example, the IT Agency lead us through a full cloud migration program to a Microsoft 365 fully managed cloud environment.”
Helping Providence Wealth to be a client service-oriented business with a clear focus on effective outcomes.
Providence Wealth currently services the needs of approximately 110 families in Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. Their clients typically seek tailored investment strategies that align with their personal circumstances, values, and financial goals.
Nothing is more important to Carlo and his team than nurturing close, collaborative relationships with clients, with a focus on portfolio customisation and consistent reviews.
What underpins this operating model is Providence Wealth’s technology infrastructure. Therefore, ensuring IT is always on, always stable, always secure, and fully compliant is the key responsibility of the IT Agency team.
“Technology is how we leverage our service to our clients,” explains Carlo. “To manage each of our 110+ relationships, the technology platform needs to be performing well.”
Through the course of a typical day, Carlo and his team needs secure and reliable access to data, as well as the hardware and software that enables them to leverage this data into advanced portfolio management and reporting to clients. Importantly, the team needs to run these day-to-day operations while maintaining first class communication and collaboration with its clients, colleagues, and partners.
“If the technology doesn’t perform as we need it to, it would be a complete waste of a day. Client proposals would sit on the printers, important request for portfolio updates would go unanswered, and clients generally would be left un-served.”
Providence Wealth relies on advanced technology to ensure the legitimacy and efficiency of its operations. To maintain this high standard, they trust The IT Agency to deliver dependable, always-on IT services that empower their employees and ensure continuous support for their clients.
“We want to make sure the customer experience is always great. For high-net-worth individuals and families, the cornerstone of a great service is seamless client interaction regardless of who’s dealing with them in the firm. And what underpins that is our technology platforms.”
An always on IT service that’s built on the Microsoft 365 cloud platform.
The Microsoft 365 environment the IT Agency has set up and manages at Providence Wealth is helping enhance client experiences, enable greater productivity, and enjoy efficiencies throughout the business.
Thanks to the seamless collaboration enabled through Microsoft Teams’ video meetings, chats, and document sharing, Providence Wealth’s client services professionals can deliver timely updates and tailored advice, reinforcing trust and transparency, and enabling close working relationships to flourish.
The integration of Power Apps on the Microsoft Power Platform enables the team to automate routine tasks, such as portfolio performance reports, and allow advisors to focus on strategic client engagement.
Microsoft 365 enables real-time collaboration on documents and presentations, allowing clients and advisors to co-create financial strategies, ensuring clients feel more involved and informed.
Carlo, Michaela and the IT Agency team are currently reviewing the possibilities presented by PowerBI and its advanced analytics. This has the potential to enable advisors to present data-driven investment strategies and projections, building more valuable client outcomes through smart and impactful decision-making.
With OneDrive and SharePoint, confidential client data can be stored securely, in the cloud so it’s easily accessible and always compliant with industry standards.
Providence Wealth operates in a highly regulated environments, so the IT Agency’s expertise is vital.
The IT Agency’s services are particularly relevant for businesses, like Providence Wealth, which operate in regulated industries. The IT Agency emphasises IT security and risk management in its services to ensure strict compliance with regulatory requirements.
This manifests in cutting-edge cyber security measures, backed by industry certifications such as CISSP, that protect sensitive data and keep the business continuity plan in line with directives like APRA CPS 230.
Its cloud infrastructure solutions prioritise security, reliability, and governance, essential for regulatory adherence. Furthermore, The IT Agency provides proactive monitoring and ongoing support, helping organisations like Providence Wealth stay ahead of compliance challenges, while focusing on continual improvement through innovative technology solutions.
An IT service to support ongoing growth
As Providence Wealth pursues a growth strategy through joint venture, merger and acquisition, the IT Agency’s ability to support its operations team through technology and data integrations is becoming more important.
One such joint venture is with the Adelaide-based Hood Sweeney, through which Providence Wealth is seeking to extend its expertise in high-net-worth client management and investment strategies.
“To get the two organisations working together as effectively as possible, the IT Agency worked with our internal operations team to integrate Hood Sweeney’s systems into ours. This included integrations within Salesforce to enable joint marketing operations between the two businesses,” explains Carlo.
A close working relationship in the future
As Providence Wealth continues to grow its operations, technology will play an increasingly important role.
The firm’s commitment to always putting clients’ interests first is underscored by its dedication to leveraging advanced technology and expert guidance to enhance client outcomes. With the guidance of one of the most experienced investment committees in Australia, Providence Wealth is ensuring that every technological decision is made with the client in mind.
To support this commitment, Providence Wealth is currently looking to hire a Virtual CTO or engage with IT Agency to deliver a CTO as a Service.
As well as offering expert guidance on adopting emerging technology into the firm, this CTO role will also ensure Providence Wealth continues to strategically align IT with the business vision.
“We’re strengthening our partnership by focusing on key technological initiatives. We’re taking their advice on the best options regarding our new CTO role. And we’re developing a robust cyber response plan, with Ron and Richard taking the lead, to ensure all security measures are in place.”
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